Thousands of UK jobs are at risk after European aerospace company Airbus warned it could leave the UK over the stalled and vague Brexit negotiations.
BMW, which builds Minis and Rolls Royce cars in the UK, later added to the warning.
Airbus has gone public with a risk-assessment that puts its continued operation in the UK in grave doubt.
The firm employs 14,000 people and supports a further 110,000 jobs in its supply chain in the UK, as well as generating £1.7bn in tax revenues.
The firm raised concerns over the lack of clarity around the Brexit negotiations; however the Government responding that it has 'made significant progress'.
Airbus is now stockpiling components in case of a hard Brexit and preparing to abandon plans to build aircraft wings in its British plants. The firm has factories in north Wales, Stevenage, Portsmouth and Bristol.
In a statement, the firm said that the UK exiting the EU next year without a deal 'would lead to severe disruption and interruption of UK production'.
'This scenario would force Airbus to reconsider its investments in the UK, and its long-term footprint in the country, severely undermining UK efforts to keep a competitive and innovative aerospace industry, developing high value jobs and competences.'
It added that 'the current planned transition (which ends in December 2020) is too short for the EU and UK Governments to agree the outstanding issues, and too short for Airbus to implement the required changes with its extensive supply chain'.
'In this scenario, Airbus would carefully monitor any new investments in the UK and refrain from extending the UK suppliers/partners base.'
Tom Williams, chief operating officer of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, commented: 'In any scenario, Brexit has severe negative consequences for the UK aerospace industry and Airbus in particular. Therefore, immediate mitigation measures would need to be accelerated.
'While Airbus understands that the political process must go on, as a responsible business we require immediate details on the pragmatic steps that should be taken to operate competitively. Without these, Airbus believes that the impacts on our UK operations could be significant.
'We have sought to highlight our concerns over the past 12 months, without success. Far from Project Fear, this is a dawning reality for Airbus. Put simply, a No Deal scenario directly threatens Airbus’ future in the UK.'
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: 'The announcement form Airbus is extremely worrying. We have repeatedly warned that the UK cannot take the risk of cutting ourselves adrift of the single market and customs union. Particularly in the case of the manufacturing sectors, which is Wales are so important in providing high-paid, high skilled jobs.
'We have again today called on the UK Government in its forthcoming White Paper to commit to staying inside the Single Market and Customs Union.'
BMW's special representative in the UK, Ian Robertson, told the BBC that the company needed clarity by the end of the summer.
He said: 'If we don't get clarity in the next couple of months we have to start making those contingency plans ... effectively making the UK automotive industry less competitive than it is in a very competitive world right now.'
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